New hotel planned at site of former West Chester restaurant

Southwest Ohio’s first Aloft hotel is coming to West Chester Twp.’s Union Centre Boulevard area, joining a slate of new hotels recently opened or planned in West Chester and Liberty townships.

The 116-room Aloft hotel will be built on a 2-acre site at the corner of Centre Pointe Drive and Muhlhauser Road that formerly was home to El Coyote restaurant.

An affiliate of Columbus-based Witness Hospitality purchased the property at 9183 Centre Pointe Drive last month for $1.2 million, according to Butler County Auditor’s Office records.

MORE: First look at 2 new hotels planned for Butler County

The hotel is scheduled to open in July 2019, according to Paige Francis, vice president of Global Brand Management for Aloft.

“Cincinnati is a fast-growing Midwest metropolis and saw many startup companies move into the area in 2016, which bolstered travel and occupancy,” Francis told the Journal-News. “Additionally, West Chester is centrally located between Dayton and Cincinnati, making it an ideal location to open a property.”

Francis said the Aloft brand delivers a fresh approach to the traditional staid hotel landscape.

“For the always on next generation of traveler, the Aloft brand offers a tech-forward, vibrant experience and a modern style that is different by design,” she said.

As previously reported in the Journal-News, HiFive Development Services plans to bring two hotels to the corner of Cox Road and Liberty Way in a project with a total estimated cost of between $30 million and $34 million.

The Fields at Liberty Way, a 13.35-acre development, is likely to include a 98,040-square-foot, 156-room Hyatt House extended stay hotel, and a 68,200-square-foot, 116-room Holiday Inn Express, according to plans submitted to West Chester Twp.

In 2015, Beavercreek-based Middletown Hotel Management developed Centre Park of West Chester. The $25 million project, which was the first new Holiday Inn in the Cincinnati area in about 20 years, also included an event center and restaurant.

Earlier this year, the 130-room AC Hotel Cincinnati North opened at Liberty Center. It was the the first AC Hotel to open in Ohio.

Also this year, Home2 Suites by Hilton at 7145 Liberty Centre Drive opened the chain's first Ohio location. The $9 million extended-stay hotel is within one mile of the $350 million Liberty Center retail development and Cincinnati Children's Liberty Campus, which recently added an 80,000-square-foot proton therapy and research center for cancer treatment.

There are two Aloft hotels in Ohio, one in downtown Cleveland and one in Beachwood, just east of Cleveland. Aloft hotels are scheduled to open in Westerville, just outside of Columbus, in September 2017 and in North Olmsted near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in November 2017.

There are more than 100 Aloft hotels in 16 countries around the world, Francis said.

The Greater Cincinnati region’s first Aloft hotel is scheduled to open Jan. 12 in Newport, Ky.

Marriott International acquired Aloft parent company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in September for $13 million, according to a report by the Associated Press.

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